DT85 shift linkage, after water pump replacement.

[dogdad]

I have a ?99 Suzuki DT85, and the pump impellor failed. Got a new one and started putting it back together simple enough, til I got the shaft (so to speak).

How the heck do you get the clutch rod (long vertical rod from gearcase to under head) to line up with the clutch shaft (short horizontal rod from shifter arm to hole in top of clutch rod)????

The shaft and rod both come together directly under the head, and there?s no way to see in/down there to help line them up. Push the shaft out of the way with a needle-nose while sliding the lower-unit/clutch rod slowly up, and then gently jiggle and pull on the shaft in hopes that it goes into the hole at the top of the rod? nope, try again.

Started the re-assembly about 2:30 yesterday afternoon, and gave up at 7:30 (missing dinner!). I?ve twisted and turned the two of them so many times last night, I saw them in my nightmares.

I'm not even gonna guess if the water-tube grommet will end up where it's supposed to.

There?s gotta be a secret to it! Any ideas?

 

[ChuckV309]

Re: DT85 shift linkage, after water pump replacement.

How did you get the rods apart to drop the lower unit? The Suzukis I have worked on had a nut and lock nut on the shift rod to lock the rod from the power head and the one from the lower unit together. You loosen the lock nut and then turn the big nut in a counterclockwise direction to thread the nut up the shift rod from the power head to seperate it from the lower shift rod. To get the best access to the nuts, shift the engine into forward.

Chuck

 

[dogdad]

Re: DT85 shift linkage, after water pump replacement.

Thanks for the reply, Chuck. I was beginning to think I was the only one that ever pulled a Suzuki apart and had a problem.

Unfortunately, it sounds like this one is different than yours. I don't have a nut & lock-nut combination. The concept is more like carb linkage, where you have to get the linkage rod into the the small hole in the plate on the carb shaft- all the while trying to do it as if you're on the other side of the motor and can't see any of the parts.

In fact, even the Suzuki book led me astray. My linkage is like the DT75 series with the blind linkage, while the book for the DT85 shows being able to simply pull off a big plate below the motor housing and disconnecting the upper shaft and lower shaft right there.

Suggestions??

 

[ChuckV309]

Re: DT85 shift linkage, after water pump replacement.

Got me there. Sorry, I have not worked on one like that.

 

[mike__b]

Re: DT85 shift linkage, after water pump replacement.

I think there should be an access port to disconnect the clutch rod from the rod before disassemble / after installation.

 

[89dt75]

Re: DT85 shift linkage, after water pump replacement.

I recently pulled the lower end off a friends dt75 and we pulled the shift lever out of the gear box. The end of the shift rod was quite worn and hes getting a new one so i wont know if I can can get it back in the gearcase til next weekend. I knew that if I took the clutch rod off the clutch shaft I'd never get it back together but you may win this battle. Ill le you know how i make out dogdad.

 

[dogdad]

Re: DT85 shift linkage, after water pump replacement.

OK, I'm back! Finally got the stupid linkage to line-up and go straight, after an obsessive marathon session of "It IS going to go in there tonite, or I will keep at it til it does!" (almost took all nite too!). I think what finally worked is putting it in forward and then oh-so-gently easing the lower-unit into place, without knocking the shift shaft out of alignment. I did that so many times that when it finally DID snick into place I didn't realize it nor believe it, and was about ready to drop and re-adjust again. WHEW!!!
So, the trick is to put it in gear and then re-insert the foot/shaft, not try it in neutral like I was doing as it will probably end up sliding into reverse and not line-up at all.

89dt75 - Hang in there Buddy, you CAN do it! Please let me know how it goes, good luck.